Preparation and characterization of CdWO4:Cu nanorods with enhanced photocatalytic performance under sunlight irradiation

The objective of this work is to convert an ultraviolet active photocatalyst to a visible active photocatalyst and investigate the effect of copper (Cu2+) doping on the morphology and photocatalytic activity of CdWO4. Efficient visible light driven Cu2+ doped CdWO4 photocatalysts were successfully prepared by a hydrothermal method and characterized by various techniques. The XRD results revealed that CdWO4 and Cu2+ doped CdWO4 have crystallized in a monoclinic wolframite structure. The SEM images displayed nano rod like morphology and as the Cu2+ content is increased irregular structures were observed. The best photocatalytic activity was observed for Cd0.95Cu0.05WO4 in the presence of H2O2 under sunlight irradiation and it was found to be 5 times more than that of pristine CdWO4. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Cu2+ doped CdWO4 compositions leads to further improvement of the catalysts for environmental remediation.